Mrs. Blackmon

Honors Am. Lit.: Week of May 4 - 7

EOCT Poetry Review Powerpoint:  Download Poetry intro to terms

Links to Short Stories and criticism for Modernism Unit:

"A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty  (text, page 820)  http://www.myteacherpages.com/webpages/RGunnar/files/_A%20Worn%20Path_%20Text.pdf

http://www.myteacherpages.com/webpages/RGunnar/files/Worn%20Path%20Discussion.pdf

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/41737/eudora_weltys_a_worn_path_pg2.html?cat=12

Download Worn Path - Journey Through Real and Not Real

"The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"  by Katherine Anne Porter  (text, page 846)

http://people.morrisville.edu/~whitnemr/html/The%20Jilting%20of%20Granny%20Weatherall.htm

Download The Jilting of Granny Weatherall Summary

"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson

http://learnhub.com/lesson/6889-the-lottery-full-text

Download A Reading of Shirley Jackson's Lottery

"A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner

Download Rose For Emily - text of story

Download Teaching A Rose for Emily

"Haircut" by Ring Lardner

Download Haircut - full text

Download Haircut - samples of criticism

Download Haircut - Study Guide

1st Period Am. Lit.: Week of May 4 - May 7

Monday:  Continue Coach EOCT review.  One week from today is the BIG DAY!

Review for Unit Test tomorrow   Download Unit Test - Review

Vocabulary 10-F Quiz today.  We'll go over words first.

Tuesday:  Unit Test - Division, Expansion, Reconciliation (Bierce, Chopin, Lincoln, London, Whitman)

Also, be sure to have your choice novel in hand every day this week.  Your 10 Question Interview project is due either May 15 (written) or May 18 (videotaped).  Need another copy of instructions?  Download Independent Reading Assignment - interview

Wednesday:  Begin Modernism Unit.  Focus will be on both changes in poetry and prose.  First short story to read:  "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall." 

Honors Am. Lit.: Week of April 27 - May 1

Monday:  Big Event Today - Turn in Poetry Analysis essay (3 pages minimum, typed, MLA - but no Works Cited needed).
Then, On to Jack London and "To Build a Fire."  Listen/follow along to story; complete plot chart with partner.  Focus on types of conflict (internal vs. external) and knowledge vs. instinct. 

Monday's Homework:  Finish chart.  Begin Voc. Unit 10-G - Quiz next Monday (May 4).

Tuesday:  Focus for today is Walt Whitman.  We'll start simple:  "O Captain, My Captain."  Look for the controlling metaphor (Captain, ship, crew, trip, victory).  Listen to the speaker's voice. See how he paints Lincoln as a Captain, as Father of a reborn nation, and as a person father-figure, all in one poem.

Then, let's look at Whitman's "I Hear America Singing." You have an opportunity for an EGO (extra grade opportunity) if you like modeling this poem with ideas of your own.  See the WOW wall for examples.  EGO is due to me by Monday, 5/4, at the absolute latest.  

And finally, we will read Whitman's prose piece, "The Death of Lincoln" and discuss its main points.

Tuesday's Homework: First, read Lincoln's short speech, the "Gettysburg Address."  Then, read and annotate (that means do more than just highlight!) the article "Rhetoric of Remembrance" in preparation for tomorrow's research into Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" and presentation to the class.  Here is the link for you to download at home:  Download Gettsyburg - The Rhetoric of Remembrance

Be sure to have "The Rhetoric of Remembrance" in your hands for class on Wednesday.  This is a homework grade.

Wednesday:  Hand in your annotated copy of "The Rhetoric of Remembrance."  Then, with assigned groups, begin research on "myth" behind the "Gettysburg Address."  Laptop cart will be available for online research.  Work quickly.  Each group will present findings today.

Wednesday's Homework:  Read Kate Chopin's short story, "Story of an Hour."  I've included a link if you do not have your textbook handy:

http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/hour/

Thursday:  Today our focus in on Kate Chopin.  We will start by practice annotating her very short work, "Ripe Figs."  Then, you will look back at "Story of an Hour."  See any new elements?  Plan on a reading check over this story. 

Then, let's study carefully a model essay written and revised by a student.  What revisions did the student make that improved the essay? 

Finally, let's listen to one of my favorite Chopin stories:  "Desiree's Baby."

Thursday's Homework:  Study for unit test on "Division, Reconciliation, and Expansion."

Download Unit Test - Review

Friday:  Unit Test Today.

Friday's Homework:  Remember - Monday is the last day I will accept the "I Hear ____ Singing" EGO. Need to review Whitman's purpose?  Here's an essay from Poetry for Students Download Whitman - I Hear America Singing - Poetry for Students

Also, quiz Monday on Vocabulary Unit 10-G.

EOCT for American Lit. 

Monday - Tuesday, May 11-12

Remember:  This one state-mandated test is

15% of your semester grade.

Honors Am. Lit.: Week of April 20 - 24

Monday:  Reading Check today on The Great Gatsby, chapter 1-2 (critical thinking, not recall).  Need help?  Look under "pages" on Typepad. 

Next Unit:  Division and Discovery:  Authors to study will be Ambrose Bierce, Jack London, Kate Chopin, Abraham Lincoln, and Walt Whitman.

Monday's Homework: Begin Vocab. 9-G for "big" quiz on Friday (Units 7-9).  Continue reading The Great Gatsby, chapters 3-4.  Next Quiz will be on Thursday. 

Also, complete unit identifications for open homework check on Tuesday.  Need another copy?  Download Unit Identifications

Tuesday:  Unit identifications open homework check.  Begin reading Bierce's "Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge."  Use Story Elements Chart to organize your ideas about the story.

Tuesday's Homework: Finish "Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge."  

Need help?  Here is the text of the story with helpful notes in the margins:

http://extend.unb.ca/wss/1145demo/owl2.htm

And here is a study guide:

http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides4/owl.html

And a powerpoint to review:  Download An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge

Continue working on poetry essay (due Monday - lab day coming up on Friday).

Wednesday:  Reading check on "Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge."  Focus is on point of view - omniscient, limited, first-person.

Listen today to excerpt from Jon Krakauer's story of Chris McCandless's life:  Into the Wild.  Then, as we read Jack London's story, "To Build a Fire," look for similarities in theme, characterization, setting, and tone.  Do you think McCandless was inspired by London? 

Wednesday's Homework:  Keep working on essay - lab day Friday should be a day to "polish," not "write."  Remember that you also have a vocabulary quiz this week on units 7-9, not just 9. 

Finish the excerpt from Into the wild.  Here is the link to the pages we started in class:  Download Death of an Innocent - Into the Wild excerpt

Be ready to discuss the graphic organizer at the beginning of class tomorrow.

Be sure that you have read AT LEAST through chapter 4 of The Great Gatsby for a reading check tomorrow.

Thursday:  Reading check + video update on Gatsby through chapter 4. 

Discuss ending of "To Build a Fire."  Fit this story into your definition/s of realism and naturalism.

Thursday's Homework:  Have enough of essay written that tomorrow can be a productive editing day in the lab (after vocab. quiz on unit 7-9).

Friday:   Vocab + Lab.

Friday's Homework:  Finish essay.  Have final typed version in hand on Monday.  Late papers will be penalized.

1st Period Am. Lit.: Week of April 13 - 17

Focus this week is on Poetry, including Emily Dickinson, Longellow, and Holmes:

Download Reading Poetry

Download Overview of Dickinson's Life Blue Sky

Wednesday:  In class essay on "Because I Could Not Stop for Death"

Thursday:  Quiz on Vocabulary Unit 8

Friday:  Unit Test, "A Growing Nation"

Need to review?  Check out this review:  Download Unit Test Review

Next novel will be student choice.  Here is the list:  Download Novels for Choice

Have your novel in hand by Monday, April 20.

Honors Am. Lit.: Week of April 13 - 17

Monday:  Research papers returned today.  In class, complete Individual Proofreading Record for portfolio.  Also, analyze one "meaty" paragraph using "A Closer Look."  How do your sentences "stack up"?

Paraphrasing:  Select 5 direct quotes from your paper and paraphrase them.

Correct errors:  Select 5 sentences in which I noted errors.  Rewrite correctly.

Begin discussion of Emily Dickinson (text 418). 

Monday's Homework:  Vocab. Quiz Thursday on Unit 8.  Gatsby Quiz chapters 1-2 next Monday (critical reading quiz, not recall!).  Unit Test (A Growing Nation) on Friday.

Next major essay?  Poetry analysis on 3 of Dickinson's poems.  Select one theme that interests you.  Be prepared to paraphrase, explicate, and analyze one poem in detail.  Then, be prepared to discuss how two other poems also relate to the same theme.  Typed, MLA.  Due Date:  Monday:  April 27.  Minimum length: 3+ pages.  No secondary sources.  Must include quoted lines from text of Dickinson's poems.

Read background to Dickinson, text page 418.  Work on vocabulary unit 8-G.

Tuesday:  Discuss Dickinson's poems in text:  "Because I Could Not Stop for Death, He Kindly Stopped for Me," "I Heard a Fly Buzz -- When I Died," "There's a Certain Slant of Light," "My Life Closed Twice Before Its Close," "The Soul Selects Her Own Society."

http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides2/Dickinson.html

Download Overview of Dickinsons Life Blue Sky

Learner.org video on Emily Dickinson:  50 minutes  (Absent?:  Please schedule a time to makeup video)

Tuesday's Homework:  Begin studying the thematic arrangement of poems by Dickinson.  Which theme interests you?  Which poem do you want to explicate?  Which other two do you want to discuss?

Here is the handout of poems by theme: Download Dickinson poems - by themes

Do not print the entire list.  Be selective.  Find a theme that interests you, select one poem that you understand well, and then look for at least two other poems that you can relate to that theme.

Begin unit test review:  Download Unit Test Review

Wednesday:  Continue discussion of Dickinson poetry.   Compare to Longfellow's "The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls," and Holmes's "Old Ironsides."

http://www.legallanguage.com/resources/poems/oldironsides/

Wednesday's Homework:  Begin annotating 3 poems of your choice. 

Study Vocab. Unit 8 for quiz on Thursday. 

Gatsby reading schedule:  Chapters 1-2 by Monday for critical reading check (not a recall quiz - analysis).

Thursday:  Quiz today on Vocab. 8-G.

Discuss Fireside poets:  Download Fireside poets - brief intro with lines 

Review for unit test on Friday.

Thursday's Homework:  Study for major unit test, "A Growing Nation."

Friday:  Unit test today:  "A Growing Nation."

Friday's Homework:  Finish reading chapters 1-2 of The Great Gatsby for critical reading check on Monday.

Spend some quality time thinking about and working on your poetry analysis.

Here is the scoring guide (rubric) for the essay:  Download Literary Analysis Scoring Guide

Here are two handouts that might jumpstart your ideas:

Download Poetry Analysis

Download Writing About Poetry - OWL

Download UNC Handout - Poetry Explication

1st Period Am. Lit.: Week of Mar. 23 - 27

Monday and Tuesday:  GHSGT - No classes 1st period - Keep reading The Great Gatsby.

Wednesday and Thursday:  Shortened classes these 2 days.  Be sure you have read through chapter 4 of Gatsby. 

Wednesday's Homework:  Polish one body paragraph and prepare to hand in to me (typed) on Thursday.

Friday: Hand in typed Works Cited page of research paper.  Have at least 7 of your sources listed on the page for me to check.

Honors Am. Lit.: Week of March 23 - 27

Monday:  Writing Lab Today

Monday's Homework:  Work on body of research paper + finish reading Night Thoreau Spent in Jail.

Tuesday:  Begin learning centers for NTSIJ.  Read Wendy McElroy's "Henry Thoreau's 'Civil Disobedience.'"  Discuss in terms of NTSIJ.

Tuesday's Homework:  Listen to Parts 1 and 2 of "Iconoclastic Individualism" on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGdreCP6shU&feature=related     (9 minutes)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV4YHOjJLDk          (9 minutes)

List 5 ideas from each video you agree with and 5 ideas that you disagree with (20 ideas total)

And, listen to this reading from "Civil Disobedience," also on YouTube:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9z0o_MAU0ao&NR=1

Sorry, but we would listen to them in class if they were not blocked by Cobb County.

And here is the handout; download a copy for yourself if possible:  Download Henry Thoreau and Civil Disobedience

Honors Am. Lit.: Week of Mar. 16 - 20

Monday:  Writing Lab today.  Work on note cards, preliminary outline, or body paragraph with in text citations.  Also, make corrections on source cards, if necessary.  Hand in 25 cards by the end of the period; they are your "ticket out the door."

Need help with electronic sources?  Here is the Guide to Electronic Sources I mentioned in class today:

Download Internet citations

Monday's Homework:  Continue reading NTSIJ.  Be prepared tomorrow to work on preliminary outlines and to discuss the first 1/2 of Act I, NTSIJ.

Tuesday:

Tuesday's homework:

Wednesday:

Wednesday's Homework:

Thursday:  Our own version of GHSGT Boot Camp! 

Thursday's Homework: Keep reading NTSIJ and keep writing.  We will return to our regularly scheduled programming next week, after the Language Arts graduation test.

Friday:  Boot Camp!  Practice Test #1 today. 

Link to Roots and prefixes download for GHSGT review:  Download Roots and Prefixes

Link to American Literature time to review:  Download American Literature Timeline

Link to Georgia Department of Education review materials:  http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/DMGetDocument.aspx/GHSGT%20English%20Language%20Arts%20Student%20Guide%20GPS%20Version%20January%202009.pdf?p=6CC6799F8C1371F67CB372EA19E2D938CC724D69C6120399A8B17CB93C753A57&Type=D

(includes correct answers + explanations at end of packet)

Friday's Homework:  Rest and review. Be ready for Monday's test.  Have in hand pencil(s) with white erasers, and LEAVE YOUR CELL PHONES AT HOME!  Also, bring something to read after the test.

1st Block Am. Lit.: Week of Mar. 16 - 20

Monday:  Writing Lab today.  Work on 25 note cards, due at end of period.  Be sure to use 4 x 6 cards (I have plenty, so check with me if you need some).

Also, be sure to make a source card for every new source you locate.  Need help creating a source cards for electronic sources?  Here is a guide:  Download Internet citations

Monday's Homework:  Continue work on research paper.  Follow calendar provided at beginning of project.  Also, continue reading Great Gatsby; chapters 1-3 due Wednesday.

Need help with Gatsby?  Try these:

Download Cummings Study Guide - The Great Gatsby

Download Summary and Analysis of Chapters 1 - 2

Download Summary and Analysis of Chapters 3 - 4

Don't forget:  Technical writing assignment (Real Estate Brochure for Usher House) due by Wednesday at the latest.

Tuesday:  Remember to work on brochure tonight.  Need help with "Fall ofthe House of Usher"?  Try this download:  Download House of Usher - Summary - Anaysis

Today in class we will focus on The Great Gatsby.  Be sure to have your copy in hand.  The library has plenty, so check one out if you still do not have your own copy.  Chapters 1-2 will be our focus.  Who are the main characters?  Why is Nick an objective narrator?  What are the differences between East and West Eggs?  Who lives in the Valley of Ashes?  How is the billboard with the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg symbolic?  Be sure you are reading closely, and look for symbols in everything!

Tuesday's Homework:  Continue reading The Great Gatsby and work on research paper.  Next assignment due is a same body paragraph with in-text citations (parenthetical citations).  I won't see you much next week, but we will find some time to check these in between graduation tests.

Wednesday:  Learner.org video introduction today on Transcendentalism.  Look for the relationship between Ben Franklin and his "self-made man" and Ralph Waldo Emerson's "intuitive man" as discussed in the video.  If you were absent today, you will need to make up the viewing guide on this video.  See me for a good time to take care of this assignment.

Wednesday's Homework:  Keep reading and keep researching!

Thursday:  Most of our class was absent today for "Boot Camp" or for band trip.  So, we did a recap on The Great Gatsby and talked "real world" college costs.  Some of you may be coming to see me to retake the Gatsby Chapters 1-2 reading check . . . This time, be sure you have read the material carefully.

Thursday's Homework:  Keep reading and keep researching!

Friday:  More quality time with Gatsby!

Friday's Homework:  Rest, rest, and rest!!!!!  You have an extremely IMPORTANT test Monday for Language Arts.  You can do it!